The name of the show derives from the idiom "up Shit Creek [without a paddle]", implying an extraordinarily difficult or nearly impossible situation, as if stuck in a boat on a proverbial stream full of feces, unable to move one's self out of a terrible circumstance. It is a play on words with "Schitt", an actual surname of Germanic origin.After their business manager steals all of their money, the once-wealthy Roses are forced to move to the town of Schitt's Creek, which Johnny bought in 1991 as a joke gift for David; they take up residence in the town's motel.The series is filmed on location in Goodwood, Ontario, which is located in the Regional Municipality of Durham of the Greater Toronto Area and Mono, Ontario, where the motel scenes are filmed while the interior scenes are filmed at Pinewood Toronto Studios in Toronto.